Picture Play Magazine (Sep 1920 - Feb 1921)

60 The Screen in Review Despite the splendid settings and the fine work of Mr. Fitzmaurice, ''Idols of Clay" is mediocre on account of the tawdriness of its story' Life If you have twenty-five cents to toss away, go to see William A. Brady's production, "Life," and spend a perfectly wild evening1. It is another adaptation of a stage play, but it is done without regard to law or order. As I only saw the picture once, I cannot tell what it is all about. The plot, by Thompson Buchanan and Mr. Brady himself, is so strong that it couldn't be killed with a club. It is one of those active affairs that goes on and on and on. A beautiful melange of society and the underworld, it is hard to tell the social lights from the crooks. It specializes in murder and sudden death, in vampires and thieves. Undoubtedly Mr. Brady produced it for what it was worth. And it is worth about ten, twenty, and thirty. It is hard-hitting entertainment, but it has so much dash and nonchalance that you cannot help having a faint sort of_ liking for it. A large cast, composed mostly of villains, works hard. The conspicuous figure in the picture is Nita Naldi, erstwhile show girl, and now an emotional actress of the stage and screen. Miss Naldi is a contestant for the beautiful tiger-skin rug to be awarded to the best vampire of the year. Haliotrope I wish I 'could say that Cosmopolitan had produced another "Humoresque" in "Heliotrope." For sheer artistry of plot, it is better than "Humoresque," and its appeal is almost as great. Fannie Hurst's story was an epic of mother love. Richard Washburn Quids' plot is an epic of father love. A convict, "lifer" in a penitentiary, learns that his daughter is engaged to the son of a rich man. And he also learns that his wife, mother of the girl, is going to blackmail her daughter. The girl has been brought up in a convent, and believes that her father and mother are dead. The father tells his story to the governor, and obtains a parole. He gives his word of honor that he will not harm his wife. His plan of attack is much more subtle. Before the law had removed him beyond the reach of such luxuries, Harry Hasdock had loved the perfume of heliotrope. Perfume is the weapon he uses against his wife. At the first whiff of heliotrope, she knows that he is on her trail. The idea of driving a woman to insanity by the smell of perfume is an interesting one. The director, however, fails to make the scenes effective. But the climax atones for much that is mediocre in the picture. By goading her to madness, Heliotrope Harry forces her into murder. To "save his daughter he gives his life, deliberately and willingly. The campaign of persecution had been elaborated and craftily devised. Throughout the picture the daughter is unaware of the drama that is being enacted about her. She is never conscious of the existence of her parents. i ler story is merely an everyday boy-and-girl romance. The construction of the story and its dramatic denouement give the picture claims to artistic distinction. The best acting is done by Fred Burton, who plays the role of Heliotrope Harry: Dinty Unless we are very much mistaken "Dinty" is going to be one of the most popular pictures of the year. And much of its popularity will be attributed to the fatal beauty of Wesley Barry, How wise of Marshall Neilan to make him a star ! Few distinguished actors find recognition so quickly. Like John Barrymore, Mr. Parry reaches the zenith of his powers while comparatively young. He brings to his art the fire of youth and' the experience that comes from excellent training. As a San Francisco newsboy' who organizes a news